Hunting stands are well known for the allowing hunters to hunt comfortably from an elevated position for an extended period of time. There are three basic types of hunting stands: hang-on stands, climbing stands, and ladder stands. All three types of stands have the two basic components: a platform portion for supporting the hunter in a standing position and a seat portion for supporting the hunter in a seated position. Key differences between the types of stands are the based on how a user installs the stand in an elevated position, how a user enters the stand once it is installed, and the portability of the stand.
Conventional hang-on stands are installed in an elevated position on a tree by using a separate conventional climbing device and are installed by being strapped to a tree and having the platform engage the tree. A user enters a hang-on stand by using a conventional ladder or a separate tree climbing aid, such as “climbing sticks.” A stand alone conventional hang-on stand offers significant portability as it does not include a ladder or climbing equipment. However, hang-on stands do require a ladder or climbing aid for use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,756 discloses a conventional hang-on stand.
Conventional climbing stands are configured to allow a user to climb a tree using climbing straps attached to the platform and seat portions. When using a conventional climbing stand a user uses the climbing straps to climb to a desired elevated position on a tree. Once the user reaches the desired elevated position, the user installs the stand by securing straps around the tree. Climbing stands also offer significant portability as they do not require a ladder or separate climbing aid for installation or use. U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,823 discloses a conventional climbing stand.
Conventional ladder stands include a ladder section which is used to support the platform and seat. Ladder stands are installed by attaching the platform and seat to the ladder section and simply leaning the ladder section against the tree and securing the ladder stand. Once a ladder stand is installed a user can freely enter or exit the stand by climbing the ladder section. Aside from ease which ladder stands can be entered or exited, ladder stands offer several other significant advantages over hang-on and climbing stands, such as the ability to support larger platforms and seats which can allow for multiple hunters to be able to use the stand simultaneously. U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,888 disclosed a conventional ladder stand.
Because conventional ladder stands include a ladder section, they typically lack the portability of hang-on and climbing stands. Prior art ladder stands, such as the ladder stands disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,742,888 and 6,334,508 have attempted to increase portability by offering having a ladder section composed of a number of fixed ladder segments. Ladder segments of conventional ladder stands are typically constructed by welding rungs composed of steel tubing to rails composed of steel tubing. Ladder segments in prior art ladder stands are typically connected to one another by pins which traverse the respective connecting rails. Although having a ladder section composed of a number of fixed ladder segments increases the portability versus a ladder section composed of one large segment, the portability is limited by the width of each of the fixed ladder sections. Further, in conventional fixed ladder segments the connection points or joints between the rails of two ladders segments are in-line. Having ladder joints in-line does not provide for maximum stability. Further, conventional fixed ladder segment designs do not provide a method of easily adjusting the height of a platform.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,829 and 5,339,920 disclose prior art stand-alone fixed length ladders where the distance between the rails can be varied where the ladders rungs are located within channels of ladder rails. The stand-alone ladders disclosed U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,829 and 5,339,920 as well as other prior art stand-alone ladders do not provide predictable results for the design of a hunting stand ladder section, as stand-alone ladders are not designed to support the weight of a hunter or a platform. In particular, foldable ladders with rungs places within channels of the respective rails, as disclosed U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,829 and 5,339,920, do not account for potential ladder twist which may occur. Further, stand-alone ladders are not designed to operate as a ladder segment that must engage another ladder segment.